Author Archives: Chandrika

Celebrations Galore!

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The news about the launch of BITSConnect 2.0 is all over the place. It was an apt moment to get together and celebrate. The first of the celebrations happened at Fremont, California hosted by none other than the chairman of BITSAA Mr. Raju Reddy at his residence. The event, not surprisingly, witnessed BITSian enthusiasm with BITSians like Sarath Kolla flying in from the east coast or Ravi Varanasi making it to the event straight from the airport after a business trip in London, just to mention a few. Also the participants included BITSians from batches spreading over three decades from a variety of professional backgrounds like engineers, entrepreneurs, academicians and venture capitalists bringing together a degree of diversity that BITS campuses are known for. Also present were non-BITSians who enthusiastically contributed to the project like Mr. Kanwal Rekhi and Mr. Srini Madala. With awesome dinner coupled with drinks and to top it off wonderful conversations about a variety of topics made the evening an unforgettable one.


Mr. Raju Reddy thanking the guests. Also seen is Mr. Kanwal Rekhi

Raju Reddy, the host thanked the participants and donors and a special mention was made about the champions of the project – Prem Jain, Sarath Kolla and Shashikant Khandelwal. Each of the champions shared their experience and encouraged others to show the same amount of enthusiasm for future projects. BITS alumnus and NYU professor Nasir Memon, who also delivered the very first lecture for the Embryo project thereby sowing the seeds for what we see today, shared his thoughts. Sarath is already preparing for the next BGM enthusiastically, while Shashikant is coming up with interesting ways to use the BITSConnect 2.0 facility truly testing the limits of its potential. The guests applauded the efforts of these gentlemen and we look forward to a stronger participation from the alumni in getting the best out of this facility. Along with the drinks and the dessert many potential opportunities for collaboration were also chatted about.

The champions of BITSConnect 2.0 – Sarath Kolla and Shashikant Khandelwal

The evening ended as happily as it began with people parting with excitement and hopefully pondering about lots of ideas that we will see pouring out in the days to come. The first milestone has been achieved but the journey is still on and its imperative that each BITSian has a role to play, and together we can achieve greater heights. And also pose for a nice photograph!

A Look at 2012 and a Thought for 2013

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As 2012 comes to a close and we welcome 2013, the Alumni Membership team at BITSAA International thought it would make sense to have a look at how membership numbers have changed over the year.  The team decided to publish some of the stats, and come with some insights on these numbers. If you have ideas on how we can improve these numbers and bring in more registrations, we are all ears – Shoot out an email to membership-team@bitsaa.org and we will be happy to learn from you.

We have grown a lot this year. In 2011, we got 1354 registrations; this year we got 2551. That is just more than an 88% increase in growth! As the awareness of BITSAA International keeps on increasing registrations steadily keep moving upwards as well.

Today I would like to share an interesting observation with you.  So, numbers are increasing and that is a very positive sign and it got us thinking.  What is it that actually makes the greatest difference to our numbers? Its word of mouth! The simplest yet most effective form of communication used over centuries.  We often underestimate this force in today’s world, with the power of technology at our hands, with our mobile phones in our pockets and our tablets in our hands (not to forget our laptop in our bags).  We feel that it does not have a place in our life anymore, we disregard its power and toss it away like spoilt milk or old clothes in our wardrobe.

With the New Year around the corner, it is time we change this. Each BITSian should take a small step, a resolution to help our Alma Mater in a simple effective way.

Tell every BITSian you meet this year to join BITSAA International!

I doubt that will take a lot of work :-), but I’m pretty sure it will make a huge difference. Let us make sure we make some noise, and have all our friends registered. Now, you know, what to ask, when you talk to them after a long time.

I would also like to formally hand over to the batch of 1984, next years Silver Jubilee batch the pressure of trying to reel in more registrations than 1983 this year. I wish them the very best for the new year now that the torch has been passed on!

PS: Yes, we are here – the world hasn’t come to an end just yet!

BITSian set to conquer Antarctica!

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Bandan Jot Singh, a BITSian from the batch of 2005-2010, has been selected as a team member on the International Antarctic Expedition (IAE), 2013. The expedition will be led by Sir Robert Swan, the first person to walk both the North Pole and the South Pole.

The expedition, which is organized by the 2041 Foundation , aims at creating leaders for education, environment and sustainability across the globe through a leadership and sustainability program called ‘Leadership on the Edge’. More than 60 people from about 20 countries will be part of the expedition which starts from the port of Ushuaia, Argentina.

The selection for the expedition has been very carefully done to identify potential sustainability leaders for a greener future. Through a network of industry and academia, Bandan has been working in the domain of renewable & alternative energy with a focus on ‘Sustainability in Energy’ initiatives. Some of the key features of his work include:

  • Consulting in the establishment of research divisions in the energy domain, including initiatives such as Energy Monitoring and Storage in IITs.
  • Working with technology companies in Alternative Energy to help achieve less dependency on pollution-producing fuels like coal.
  • Collaborating with companies to set up Energy Control and Monitoring for Smart Micro-grids in rural areas through the Community Entrepreneur Model.

The expedition, which will kick off in March 2013, is being covered by leading print media publications, news channels and social media. Last year, companies like Airtel, Coca-Cola , Shell, BP and even smaller firms sponsored the Indian who was part of the expedition team.

Kudos to Bandan Jot for making BITSians proud! We wish him all the luck 🙂

You can follow live updates of the exciting story leading to the Antarctica Expedition in March 2013 on the Expedition Blog: http://goingtosouthpole.tumblr.com/. You can also get in touch with Bandan at goingtosouthpole@gmail.com to find out more and to send your good wishes.

BITS World 5k Run – A grand success!

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The BITS World 5k Run 2012, saw enthusiastic participation from hundreds of BITSians around the world. This year’s run, held in the memory of Prof Suresh Ramaswamy, had close to 350 BITSians from different batches- starting from the 60’s, to 2012, running in different cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Pune.

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As evident from the pictures, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We also reached out to a few runners and heard what they had to say about the run:

“The 5k run was a wonderful experience. I did not participate in the last years run. However after running this year, I believe that I was missing out on an interesting  aspect and look forward for the 5K  run next year. 🙂 “

– Nikunj Jha, ’05 batch

“I think you guys are doing a fantastic job not only in getting people out and getting to be active but also in bringing the community out in various parts of the world. Good job.”

– Manoj Sahai,  ’81 batch

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BITSAA chapters in major cities had also organized merchandise for the occasion. About 150 runners purchased BITS2Marathon t-shirts to commemorate the run. Our alumni also had some nice things to say about the merchandise:

“Merchandise was well designed – Can I have some more ?”

– R.K. Kaul, ’71 batch

“The t-shirt is comfortable. 😀 “

– Nikunj Jha, ’05 batch

We would like to thank everyone involved with the run, who helped in making it a grand success. Hope to see you at the next run 🙂

Oasis 2012 – The Reinvention

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What was transcendental is now UnioMystica. What was euphoria is now Insomnia. What
was innovation then is reinvention now. Irrespective of period partitions, through the ages
she has only dazzled. Oasis 2012, starting November 2 shall bear testimony to an ancestry of unparalleled exhilaration, celebration, insolence and animation. Riding high on expectations, this year there already are prophesies of inevitable grandeur.

One might say that such delusions and exaggeration are but natural when a single stage
will unite the musical genius of Thermal and a Quarter (ardent fans call them TAAQ), the
impeccable comic timing of Vir Das and the nostalgia of the 90s with Neeraj Shridhar of
Bombay Vikings fame. Continuing with the conscious BITSian inability to enunciate words
exceeding 2 and half syllables, the English ‘prof’ show, sponsored by Vh1 also has upcoming Rock N Roll band ‘The Shakey Rays’ performing.

Conventional crowd pullers continue to captivate, Rocktaves being a prime example. Started in 1983, it has become an arena where prodigal musicians see the light of the day. Things have come to a full circle now, with Rocktaves being sponsored by rocktaves.com an entrepreneurial venture of an alumnus of the batch that conceived Rocktaves. The music scene will be further bolstered by events- Axetacy, Tarang, Aandholika and the likes.

Quizzing is also a string contender in the conventional crowd pulling category. A pre-fest event, the formidable Oasis Lonewolf Quiz was held in sixteen venues simultaneously including an offshore location serving as a fitting preview to the frenzy of quizzing that the 42nd edition of Oasis will be. Oasis Quiz Finals, Audio Visual quiz, Music, Literature and Movie quizzes, Wordstock, Ad effect and Entertainment quiz will be the major trivial attractions this year.

BITSian jabberwocky is infamous of its own accord. Oasis has a continual stream of events to fuel such hallowed souls. BLAB (BITS Language and Attitude Battle), Kshanika and even Mister and Miss Oasis (affectionately called MAMO) are events to that end. For people who take their babble seriously, there is a Mock Parliament and the Oasis Debate.

From humble beginnings and being the oldest college festival in the country, to one of the most sought after college festivals in the country, Oasis has come a long way. Since its inception, Oasis has been a source of respite for all the weary travelers stuck in the hollowed desert. It is undeniably due to the imprints left by batches of students who were intoxicated by its charm. The phoenix is reinventing itself this year to soar once more to unforeseen heights and all are invited to witness this transformation.